Cave Story: From Pixel to Prose
by Euclid Carew
Summary: A cave, a story. That's all there really is to it. This is a retelling of Cave Story as, well, a story. I realize this has been done before, but I wanted to try my own hand and give my own flavor. Enjoy the show!


_From somewhere, a transmission…_

Kazuma breathed deeply. This was his first chance to make contact with the outside world. It had been a long time since he had first woken up. Days, at least, but he couldn't really tell anymore. It all ran together. The computer was the only thing he had to occupy his time, and he'd finally managed to create a rudimentary chat program. Now that he had finished, the program was about to run for the first time. He could only hope it would work.

"Connecting to network…" the screen read, "Logged on."

He felt his heart race. No problems so far. The screen flashed, "Executing chat algorithm."

Then there was only a command line. Nervously, Kazuma reached down to the keyboard, his fingers shaking as he typed the only thing he could think of. His words blinked onto the screen.

"Sue? You there?" He paused for a second, and then wrote, "It's me, Kazuma!"

He waited for a response, but none came. Why wasn't she answering?

Kazuma could think of nothing to say without Sue listening. He looked down at himself, once again realizing all too well how hungry he was. There was nothing in the room but this computer, some cockroaches, and a door. He had certainly tried the door, but it wouldn't open. He decided it had probably rusted shut. He looked up at the glass cylinder in the corner. That's right, he'd forgotten about the teleporter. That was there too, of course, but he hadn't been able to activate it since he fell out of it some days ago. He had a feeling that the connection was intentionally broken by one of the Doctor's men.

Kazuma sighed, and idly watched the cursor blink on the monitor. He began to type, "I've managed to get away somehow, but I've gotten lost. I've found a shelter, but there's nothing here. If you can hear me, please answer!"

He watched the words flicker in the dim light. He could only hope Sue would find his message. His hands rested on the keys.

"…please?"

It was dark. It was damp. He was cold.

He opened his eyes. It was still dark, but less so. He stood up. With a clunk he promptly fell over. Shaking his head, the small figure rose again, realizing he wasn't used to moving his own legs, for some reason. He took a step forward, tentatively. He walked around a bit, testing out his motor functions.

_Motor functions?_

He looked down at himself. Simple red pants and a black shirt covered a hard, metallic body. His hands were visibly jointed and blocky. His feet clinked against the rocks. _I'm not human? _

He suddenly realized he could not remember anything. This cave was strange to him and he couldn't remember where he had been. Even his name was a mystery. He looked around, hoping to jog his memory. Dark, natural rock walls and floors granted him no recognition. He looked up and saw a dim light around a corner. _Can I get up there?_

It appeared to be the only way out. With a small hop he landed on a ledge near the light. Another one took him to it. He was surprised to find the light came from underneath a metal door. He wasn't expecting something as familiar as a door in a place like this. He cautiously turned the handle.

He was greeted by more rocky interior. It was a passage, though, rather than a small room like he had just come from. To his left was a strangely colored wall, looking conspicuously artificial. Curiously, he felt the wall with his hands. It had some give, but he wasn't strong enough to move it. Disappointed, he turned and looked down the passage. He couldn't make out much in the darkness, but it was the only direction he could go.

He made his way down the cave, avoiding some nasty-looking red spikes and noting that several small bats were fluttering about. That was a good sign; it meant that there was food and water around. Not that he was sure he actually needed any. He certainly hadn't felt hungry or thirsty yet.

As he walked he passed several small pools of water. He glanced at his reflection in one of them, bending down to get a closer look at himself. He definitely wasn't human. His face was a pale green, or perhaps white, and was obviously metal. With surprise, he noticed a red and white cap on his head. Why hadn't he noticed it before? He tapped his head experimentally but felt nothing.

_So I can't feel?_ He stood up, perturbed, and walked past the pool. Who was he, anyway? Why was he here? And why didn't he seem to care that much? He felt perfectly happy wandering this cave, looking for who knows what. _Felt…_

Unsettled, he found himself in front of an impressive carving of what looked like a panther's head. _I can remember what a panther is?_ Its open mouth was uncomfortably filled with sharp teeth, in detail. He peered down its throat and saw a small door at the end. Carefully avoiding the teeth he moved down and pushed open the door.

Inside sat a gray-haired man, reclining in a chair, obviously asleep. Nervously, he stepped forward, watching the old man. He nudged him gently. The man did not wake up.

He prodded the man a bit more, but got no response. Realizing that he could not wake the man up, he resolved to take a look around the room. It was small, and he had a hard time believing the man actually could live in it. Only a table and some chairs adorned the room.

Something glinted in the corner, catching his eye. He walked over and saw a small workbench, littered with tools, but most prominently, a pistol. He picked up the weapon, feeling the weight of it in his hands. It looked expertly crafted, very sleek and polished. There were no decorations, save for two words embossed on the handle: Polar Star.

It was quite a beautiful weapon. He held it in one hand, and, being careful to point away from the sleeping man, gave the trigger a pull.

_From somewhere, a transmission…_

Kazuma wearily loaded up the program once again. He had just finished upgrading the code to allow him to search the network. He sincerely hoped to find Sue, but he would be happy if there was anyone else he could make contact with.

Words appeared on the screen, "Searching for user 'Sue'."

Kazuma waited. Nothing seemed to happen. He sighed again, disappointed. He hadn't really expected his program to work, but there was always hope.

Suddenly, the computer beeped, and new words flashed, "One user 'Sue' found."

Kazuma jumped, staring at the screen. _It had worked!_ He grinned broadly. His sister was out there somewhere. At least he knew he wasn't alone.

"Sue!" he typed excitedly.

But after several minutes with no response, his excitement dwindled. He stared blankly at the screen. Just because she was found by the network didn't necessarily mean she was actually at a computer. He sighed, his hope fading.

"Please respond! They're looking for you, you know," Kazuma wrote, "Are you asleep? Your brother is so lonely…"

A small packet of energy flew out from the end of the pistol, searing the wall where it struck. He jumped back in surprise. He hadn't seen an energy weapon like that since—since when? _When have I seen this before?_ _Why can't I remember?_

He glanced at the old man, wondering how such an unassuming appearance could be hiding a master craftsman. He looked back at the gun; the Polar Star. It wasn't his, he knew that, but he didn't really have any other options. He had a feeling the discolored wall he'd seen earlier would fall to such a weapon, and that looked to be the only way out.

Maybe the gunsmith was trapped as well. Perhaps he couldn't climb out of these caves in his elderly body.

He knew that was just a rationalization, but he had made up his mind. He would take the Polar Star, but he vowed to return and repay the old man. It felt good to make a promise to himself; it reinforced a sense of identity, something he was severely lacking at the moment.

Giving mental thanks to the old man, he left the room and pulled himself out of the panther's jaws. Feeling confident with his new weapon, he made his way back towards the discolored wall. Along the way he practiced using the Polar Star on a couple of the bats. It was easy to use, and seemed to have plenty of firepower, but he couldn't help but think of the old man every time he pulled the trigger.

Shaking his head, he found himself back where he first entered the cave, with the discolored wall looming ahead of him. It disintegrated with a single shot. Surprised but happy at how powerful the pistol was, he began to explore the rest of the cave.

Not that there was much left to explore, he found. After another discolored wall, there were only a few meters between him and another door, this time sitting on a ledge. He pulled himself up and casually opened the door, fully expecting another cave.

Bright light flooded the room, and before he had the chance to react, his feet slipped. Clanking loudly against the door frame, his body fell out of the cave and into open air.


End file.
